To disassociate a qualifier, officer, or partner from a California contractor license, complete the CSLB Disassociation Request form (13M-5) and mail it to the Contractors State License Board at P.O. Box 26000, Sacramento, CA 95826-0026 within 90 days of the separation date.1Contractors State License Board. Disassociation Request Form There is no filing fee. Either the business or the departing person can file, and whichever party acts should keep proof of the mailing date, because once the 90 days run out the license is exposed to automatic suspension.
Who the Form Is For
File a Disassociation Request when any of these people leaves a licensed contracting business: a Responsible Managing Officer (RMO), a Responsible Managing Employee (RME), a general or qualifying partner, or a corporate officer.1Contractors State License Board. Disassociation Request Form The reason doesn’t matter — resignation, termination, retirement, or death all trigger the same written-notice duty.
California Business and Professions Code Section 7068.2 puts the obligation on both sides. The licensee and the departing qualifier each have to notify the Registrar within 90 days of the disassociation date.2California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 7068.2 If you are the qualifier leaving a company that may not file promptly, file on your own. Your license standing is on the line too.
Filling Out the Form
Download form 13M-5 from the CSLB Forms and Applications page.3Contractors State License Board. CSLB Forms and Applications It is two sections long. Errors slow processing, so match the board’s records exactly.
Section 1: Business and Personnel Details
Section 1 identifies the business and the person leaving. You will fill in:1Contractors State License Board. Disassociation Request Form
- The business name exactly as it appears in CSLB records. If you aren’t sure of the recorded form, confirm it through the board’s online license lookup.4Contractors State License Board. Check a License
- The contractor license number.
- The business mailing address on file with the board.
- The full legal name of the person disassociating.
- A daytime phone number and current mailing address for that person.
- The exact date the separation took effect. Every deadline that follows is counted from this date, so get it right.
Section 2: Signature and Certification
The disassociating person — owner, general partner, qualifying partner, officer, RME, or RMO — signs and prints their name, with the date and location of signing.1Contractors State License Board. Disassociation Request Form At the bottom of the form is an optional “Attention Qualifiers” section. A departing qualifier who holds an individual license can request reactivation of that license by entering its number here.
If the Qualifier Has Died
When the qualifying individual has passed away, you don’t use the signed 13M-5. Send a copy of the death certificate or a newspaper obituary to CSLB within the same 90-day window.5Contractors State License Board. Death of a Contractor Remaining partners handle this for partnerships. For a corporation or LLC where the deceased was a non-qualifying officer, member, or manager, the death certificate or obituary alone is enough.
Where to Mail It
Send the completed form to:
Contractors State License Board
P.O. Box 26000
Sacramento, CA 95826-00266Contractors State License Board. Contact CSLB
Use certified mail with a return receipt. If a deadline question ever surfaces, you want documented proof of when CSLB received the form. Once the board processes it, confirm the update through the online license lookup by searching the license number or business name.4Contractors State License Board. Check a License
The 90-Day Deadline
Ninety days is the number that controls everything. It runs from the disassociation date, and it governs both notifying the board and replacing the qualifier.2California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 7068.2
If written notice arrives late, CSLB will treat the date it actually received the notice as the disassociation date. That shift can scramble the replacement timeline. The license is also automatically suspended, or the affected classification removed, effective the day the late notice arrives.7Contractors State License Board. Change in Personnel Late filing is separate grounds for disciplinary action against both the licensee and the qualifier.2California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 7068.2
One point catches departing qualifiers off guard. You remain legally responsible for the firm’s construction operations until the disassociation date or the date the board receives written notice, whichever is later. A qualifier who walks away without filing still carries liability for what the company does in the meantime.
Replacing the Qualifier
For the business, filing the Disassociation Request is half the job. The firm has 90 days from the disassociation date to file an Application for Replacing the Qualifying Individual naming a new RMO or RME who meets the experience and examination requirements.8Contractors State License Board. Application for Replacing the Qualifying Individual That application carries a nonrefundable $230 fee. Miss the 90 days without a valid replacement on file and the license is automatically suspended or the affected classification removed.
A suspended license cannot be used to contract for work, and the board will not issue a wall or pocket license until the suspension is cleared.9Contractors State License Board. Suspended License You can still renew a suspended license in active or inactive status, but you cannot operate on it.
If the incoming qualifier is an RME, or an RMO who owns less than 10 percent of the corporation’s voting stock, the business will also need a Bond of Qualifying Individual in the amount of $25,000.10Contractors State License Board. Bond Requirements The prior qualifier’s bond does not transfer. Build the time and cost of a new bond into your 90-day plan.
Asking for an Extension
Ninety days isn’t always workable. BPC Section 7068.2(e) lets the Registrar grant one 90-day extension to replace the qualifier, and only in three situations:2California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 7068.2
- The business and the departing qualifier dispute the actual date of disassociation.
- The qualifier has died.
- CSLB or another government agency is delaying processing of your replacement application for reasons outside your control.
The petition has to reach the board within 90 days of the disassociation, death, or delay, and a replacement application must already be on file. Even with the extension in hand, the total time to replace a qualifier cannot exceed 180 days from the disassociation or death date.
Penalties for Working on a Suspended License
A business that lets its license fall into suspension and keeps working is contracting without a license, which is a misdemeanor in California. A first conviction carries a fine of up to $5,000, up to six months in county jail, or both.11California Legislative Information. California Code BPC 7028 A second conviction brings a mandatory 90-day jail sentence and a fine of 20 percent of the contract price or $5,000, whichever is greater. Third and later convictions carry fines from $5,000 up to $10,000 or 20 percent of the contract price, plus 90 days to one year in jail.
CSLB can also impose administrative fines of $200 to $15,000 for unlicensed activity.12Contractors State License Board. Consequences of Contracting Without a License All of it stems from missing a one-page form.